The artificial finger will deduce prosthetics on new level

Tactile sense — one of a modest set granted to us the nature of five feelings with which loss the considerable part not only cognitive, but also emotional making our judgments about world around is lost. Unfortunately, diseases or the accidents occurring because of our congenital desire as it is possible to learn more deeply the world or it is simple on imprudence, can forever take away from us this important feeling. But recently two groups of the European scientists working in parallel over the NanoBioTact and NanoBioTouch projects, reported about successes in creation of the first in the history of an artificial sensitive finger.
The main scientific objective of work is in radical improvement of understanding of human mekhanopreobrazuyushchy system that would allow to create nanobiosensors simulating these system. For the solution of this difficult task the team from researchers of the different specialties representing 13 European scientific research institutes, universities and the companies was created. By the present moment they managed to construct a functional prototype of the first in the history of a sensitive artificial finger.
Its work is based on interaction of a set of sensors of the pressure simulating sensitivity, dynamics and spatial resolution of tactile neural receptors of the person. The prototype can be directly connected to the central nervous system. Also interesting supervision is made: after device vestments in an imitation leather and drawings of tactile drawing sensitivity of the device to vibrations considerably increased.
The Biomimetichesky finger vibrates absolutely differently — depending on quality of a structure of a surface on which it slides at present that leads to generation of signals of different type, characteristic for each of structures. After the patient will get used to these signals, he can quite distinguish, whether the surface is smooth or rough. Thus scientists argue that the sensors created by them very precisely copy a principle of work of natural receptors.
Generally, there are no doubts that use of similar artificial fingers together with usual artificial limbs of hands is capable to deduce prosthetics on absolutely other level, having returned unfortunate at least a part of former sensitivity. In this case even the plastic hand can seem not such the stranger.